Zach Holland 11137169 SpMgt 367 Draft 2 The Revolution of College Athletics College athletics are rapidly becoming one of the largest industries this nation has ever seen. Major revenue producing sports like football and basketball are making college administrators go against their word and makes one question the integrity of these higher education institutions. As Pulitzer Prize winner, Taylor Branch (2011, ¶ 8) states “the United States is the only country in the world that hosts big-time sports at institutions of higher learning.” There is a new level of commercialism involved with American college athletics that is not seen any where else in the world. College athletics are growing at such a fast rate it could possibly affect our stance in the global economy. According to Splitt (2007, ¶ 8), “One need only look at big-time (NCAA Div IA) college and university campuses where the building and expansion of football stadiums, basketball arenas, and other athletic facilities reflects the extant values and priorities at these institutions of higher education.” It is now big-time business and if a major university does not “keep up with the Jones’” they could be left with a program that is the laughing stock of the conference. Major changes are taking place, whether it is the building of athletic infrastructure, conference realignment, or the signing of new a television contract, all these changes have major effects on the university itself and has an impact on college athletics as a whole. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) desperately needs to make a drastic change in how it regulates the universities decisions to sign

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billion dollar television contracts, its’ conference alignments, and the conduct of the NCAA’s student-athletes. A person new to America might question exactly how college athletics got to where it is today and how a conference like the newly established Pac-12 can value its football and basketball television rights at over $250 million annually (Ubben, 2011 ¶ 1). One leading factor is the national media attention and the agreements made between college athletic conferences and television broadcast companies. Surprisingly years ago television was thought to have a negative impact on sports. With the availability of watching the game from the comforts of your own home attendance rates dropped. This forced the NCAA to vote against televising games with the exception of a handful of NCAA licensed games (Branch, 2011, ¶ 27). After signing an agreement with NBC, the NCAA began to show only 11 games a year. The NCAA and its television productions quickly became a marketing juggernaut and school presidents began to take notice. Along with the disgruntlement of college presidents came upon us the monumental case, NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA’s television contracts were “an illegal restraint of trade that harmed colleges and viewers” (Branch, 2011, ¶ 33). After this ruling, universities and athletic conferences

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